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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Question: When it is really okay for a vampire to sparkle in sunlight?Answer: When she really isn't sparkling--she's just never seen sunlight on skin before, and she kinda got staked by a sparkly unicorn horn the night before.

We're looking at a great new YA vampire read today--Sarah Beth Durst's Drink, Slay, Love. It's funny, it's feisty, and I devoured it in two sittings. I would've finished in one sitting but, well, I'm old and need sleep and have Ye Olde Day Jobbe that requires my presence at 7:30 a.m. Want to win a copy? Read on.

ABOUT THE BOOK:Pearl is a
sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and
mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the
heart with his horn. Oops.
Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because,
obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived.
They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the
sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The
Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast.
If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and
lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.
The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a
conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy
who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's
definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving
vamp to do?

MY THOUGHTS: When I first read the blurb for the book I thought, interesting, but the unicorn thing? I dunno.... But Durst's savvy wit and humor keep this book from turning campy and, instead, we have a YA vampire tale for the rest of us (you know who we are, and Drink, Slay, Love pokes fun at some vampire novels just for our benefit). Pearl is funny and horrified as she learns to deal with the far-reaching reactions to her near-staking by the unicorn behind the Dairy Hut. Her family is hilarious--in a scary, utterly creepy sort of way--as a kind of modern vampire Addams Family (if you aren't old enough to know about the Addams Family, just take my word for it: dysfunctional and weird). She's torn between vampire boyfriend Jadrian, who liked her better before she saw sunlight, and human hottie Evan, who admits to having a savior complex--and he thinks Pearl needs saving.

Want to win a copy of Drink, Slay, Love? In honor of the unicorn, tell me the most unusual critter you've come across in your paranormal reads. I'm going to vote for the were-gators in my own novelette Chenoire (still available as a free read, above, for a short time). Is that cheating? Okay, how about the were-snakes (ewwww) in the Anita Blake novels.

You know the bit, with a little twist: four entries possible--+1 for comment, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow: http://www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for a contest Tweet or a Facebook mention to the Preternatura link: http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com.

The only thing that I thought was kind of odd that I can remember is from Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. There's a lot of shifters in the book. They are humans who change into animals. But, there was a few animals that became human, sort of. I think it was the shifter guy mated with an animal instead of either a human or a shifter. So, the offspring were more animal than human. Most in the book couldn't speak, I think. (I hope I'm not giving away too much about the book.)

The most unusual so far for my is the Wyrs from The Elder Races by Thea Harrison so far I have read Dragon Bound.It has:* gryphons * Gargoyle* Thunderbirds* Harpy* Dragon (not so unusual anymore)* Unicorn

Ick--Alicia. The panwere! I'd blocked that one out of my mind. So totally, totally gross. That's the worst one ever. You're right. I think the weresnakes were in that same book...Narcissus in Chains? I can't remember.

I to agree with you the Anita Blake novels have some interesting weres such as wererats, and weresnakes. One novel that I read, the male lead shifted into a Centaur. i will most definitely have to read your story with a weregator ( how fun! ). I would love to win a copy of this book, it sounds great. Thanks for the giveaway! bpatrick64113@sbcglobal.net +1 Comment, +1 Follower

Ah, Marie-Claude, the were-swans. I remember that guy that Anita had sex with (well, of course she did) and he was kind of pink and pale with fluffy white feathers and...ewww. Yeah, that one was kind of grossly weird, too. I think Laurell K Hamilton is winner of the weird critter contest.

My mind can't process right now. I'm trying to go through some of the books I've read and all I can think of is my kids screams in the background. They have friends over and are being overlly loud, can't think so I'm just going to throw out zombies :) Thanks for the chance to win

+1 for commentGreat giveaway...I would love to read this one. +1 for blog followGFC as veltara +1 for Twitter follow: Follow as @scarletredwill+1 for a contest Tweethttp://twitter.com/#!/scarletredwill/status/119570586715422720

Lol..I would have said your were-gators too because that was a first for me =) I loved your short story it even had me visiting New Orleans and taking a swamp boat tour. I just read the book The Daughter of Smoke and Bone and it had some very unusual creatures in it. I had to read very slowly when it came to their descriptions so I could get the whole visual. It was an awesome book. Each time the soul was brought back the monster would change slightly. A face of a human and tail of a lion etc. Very cool.+1 comment+1 gfc follow as Tanyaw1224+1 twitter as Tanya1224+1 twittered at https://twitter.com/#!/Tanya1224/status/119759590664577024Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com

I was hesitant about the unicorn thing too. But all the reviews I have read for this have been positive so i am excited to read it. Thanks for the chance to win it. :)+1 comment+1 GFC follow+1 Twitter follow+1 Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/jenniferkjovus/status/120140564141318145